In the Light of God
by SingingInTheRaiin
Summary: After Dean is fully turned into a demon, Sam sets out to find a mysterious miracle maker in the hopes of curing his brother. This is my first fanfiction, please review :)
1. Chapter 1

Sam Winchester stared at the demon in front of him in frustration. He was concentrating as hard as he could, but nothing was happening. The demon snickered. "Performance issues, Sammy? I thought that was only supposed to happen in older men."

Sam wanted to just walk away, but he knew he couldn't do that. Not when it was his brother sitting tied to a chair inside a devil's trap. He couldn't leave when that familiar face looking at him, only with black eyes instead of their normal greenish color. He couldn't go when it was Dean looking up at him. Dean who had always watched over him and protected him. There was no way Sam was going to abandon his brother.

But he was running out of options. He had tried exorcism spells from every country and culture he could think of. He force fed the demon holy water and salt. And even though the real Dean would hate it, Sam even hunted down a random demon and drank its blood to attempt exorcising Dean's demon with his demonic powers.

That had been months ago at this point, and Sam wasn't sure that he could take it anymore. The black-eyed abomination insisted that he was still Dean, and that he wasn't possessed, and he was simply a demon now. But Sam couldn't accept that. He couldn't accept that after all their time together, the hunt would be over. Because there was no way that Sam would kill his brother, even if he knew how. And there's no way that he would be able to keep hunting monsters knowing that there was one in the hidden area behind the shelves in the bunker.

The demon chuckled, sensing Sam's discomfort. He opened his mouth to say something, but Sam was too tired to even listen. He left the secret alcove and closed the door behind him. He had to get out of there, out of the bunker, out of the place where nothing made sense anymore.

He left, making sure all the security protocols were in place before exiting, and walked to the Impala. Seeing Dean's baby was heart breaking, knowing that Dean would probably never see the precious car that had gone through so much with them ever again. The car that Dean had picked out for their father back in the seventies'.

Sam got into his own car, and drove into town. He parked outside the local diner, and went inside. He slid into a booth out of habit, almost expecting Dean to slide into the seat across from him. He should have known better, though.

There was a newspaper lying on the table, and Sam picked it up with the pretense of looking at it. He wasn't sure that he would actually be able to handle a hunt, even if he happened to find one.

The paper was recent, from just yesterday, and he flipped through quickly, but nothing caught his attention. When the waitress came over to his table, he refolded the paper and put it back down. The waitress snapped a bubble from her gum with a bored look. She was holding a pencil and pad. "Can I get you anything?"

Sam sighed. "Uh… yeah, just some coffee for now, thanks." He tried to smile, but could only imagine how horrifying he must look with all his bruises and scars. The waitress shrugs, and heads back to the kitchen.

Sam glanced down at the back of the paper he had put down, and his eyes were drawn to a small box under the personals section. He furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. There were no such thing as coincidences in his world, so there was no reason to believe that the ad was a coincidence.

He picked up the paper after scanning the words quickly to go over them more clearly in his head. _S.W. or C- I am in urgent need of your help. If you assist me, I can grant you any one miracle that you wish. Go to where Michael first found his 'sword' and you will be able to begin your search for me from there. Please, I wouldn't ask if I wasn't desperate. But don't breath a word to D.W. or J.N., they can't be trusted._

S.W. had to be Sam Winchester, and D.W. Dean Winchester. But who was the C and J.N? And how would the untrustworthy two be kept out if their initials were right in the paper? Sam thought back to when Dean first discovered that he was the archangel Michael's vessel, in the storage unit that their father had rented out a long time ago. But there was no name in the signature spot, and nothing that made him believe it was a real S.O.S message.

But either way, Sam was going to check it out. He wasn't going to pass off anything that had even the tiniest chance of giving him a miracle, because a miracle would mean getting Dean back, the real Dean.

Sam smiled charmingly at the woman behind the desk, and wasn't disappointed when his grin elicited a blush from her. He pulled out a badge, fake of course, and let her take it to inspect. When she seemed satisfied, she handed it back, and Sam slipped it back into the pocket he always kept it in. The woman smiled. "So, how can I help you, Agent Baron?"

"I was wondering if you keep records of all the people who send in personal ads to be published?"

The woman nodded. "Of course. Which ad are you trying to find the author of?"

Sam pulled out the piece that he had clipped from the newspaper and handed it to the secretary. "Anything you have that will help me find the person who sent this in would be a big help." She took the paper and glanced at the article before looking down and tapping away on her keyboard.

She frowned after a minute, and looked back up. "That's so strange. There's no record of this article ever being sent in, or published. But there's no sign that the information was erased. It's like someone snuck in and stuck it in the layout before anyone would notice. Why…?"

Sam gave her his funny little half smile, and reached over to take the article back. "Sorry, I have to go."

He left the newspaper office, and took a deep breath. It's not like Dean would starve as a demon, so he decided on an impromptu road trip to upstate New York.


	2. Chapter 2

**So I know for sure that this chapter is no good, I don't think I was able to get Crowley's character right, and I'm not really sure how often I'm supposed to be updating... but anyways, please review, even if you hate it. Warning- I don't own any of the characters, unfortunately**

Sam finally stopped the car in front of the Castle storage units, and made sure to stay inconspicuous as he got out. There was a line of police cars parked in front of the only entrance, but no officers as far as Sam could tell.

He began to walk over, and took a deep breath when he was surprised by the sudden appearance of the king of Hell. His first thought was that the whole article had been some kind of trap for him. Crowley frowned. "You know, I had a feeling that it was going to be you. How many other in the world would get that reference."

Sam frowned nervously. "World? What are you talking about?"

Crowley hardly looked surprised at Sam's ignorance. "That little personal ad article that we both obviously saw? It was published in every single newspaper across the globe yesterday, and not a single editor anywhere remembers putting it in."

Sam scoffed. "Weirder things have happened. And how do you know that you're C?"

Crowley tilted his head, and spoke as if he was talking to a toddler. "Well Moose, my name does begin with C, if you can remember the alphabet. And how many people know about this place at all, let alone whose names begin with a C?"

Sam sighed. "Fine. But that doesn't explain why you would want to help anybody. Unless… you know who put out that article?"

Crowley laughed. "I do have what is probably one of the top ten information networks in the world, but I don't know who sent us here."

Sam's eyes widened. "So you're helping because you need a miracle? What could the great king of Hell possibly need from some stranger who can supposedly grant miracles?"

The demon chuckled. "No, Moose, I don't feel myself in need of any particular miracles at the moment. However, I am feeling an immediate… connection… with this mysterious person who doesn't trust your brother or your shoulder angel."

"What are you talking about?"

Crowley shook his head with exaggeration, like even he hadn't believed the full extent of the younger Winchester's stupidity. "It isn't really that difficult to figure out. If you're S.W., then the untrustworthy D.W. would have to be Dean. And if you recall, the name of your angel's vessel is Jimmy Novak, right? J.N?" Crowley smiled. "Isn't it strange that whoever sent us here trusts an angel less than the king of Hell, yet also doesn't trust a powerful demon?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't really care about any of that stuff. All I want to know is how this place could possibly lead us to anyone. No one's even been here in years. And by the way, what's with all the cop cars?"

Crowley smiled curtly. "Friends." A horde of officers seemed to pop out of nowhere, and all of them had pitch black eyes. Sam shivered nervously, much to Crowley's amusement. "So, are we working together or what? I mean, that article said 'or', but you can be pretty resourceful for a human."

Sam's instincts told him that working with Crowley was a bad idea, but he knew that working against the demon would only lead to failure, and then Sam wouldn't get to ask for his brother to be fixed. He glanced up at Crowley as he shrugged, and they started walking into the storage unit. Speaking of fixing… wasn't Crowley still human-ish from when Sam had fed him his blood? Maybe Crowley was looking for a miracle after all.

Sam pushed past Crowley to open the door with his key, even though the demon could have easily opened it himself. He stepped inside, and it was just like he remembered it, down to the rusty metal gate that separated the half of the locker covered in devil's traps.

He went over to that area, where he knew Crowley couldn't go, just to see if maybe this hunt was being weighed in his favor over Crowley's, since he was the one who needed that miracle more. But there was nothing there that Sam didn't recognize, much to his disappointment.

He heard a sound of what could almost be considered excitement from Crowley, and he went over to the king of Hell. "Did you find anything?"

Crowley snorted. "Did you ever have any doubt?" He turned around to face Sam with a victorious look on his face. He flapped a thick paper in Sam's face, and the young man grabbed for it. Crowley yanked it away though, and Sam was left hanging.

Sam reached up again, but Crowley pulled the paper away again. Sam frowned. "Seriously? You're being childish. Just give me the damn paper."

Crowley smirked. "Someone's in a touchy mood. Is it your time of the month again, Moose?" Sam's frowned deepened, but when he crossed his arms over his chest, Crowley let the paper float gently to the floor. "You're no fun when you're being pouty Moose. Though I do have to compliment how nicely your bitch face is coming along."

Sam bent down to grab the paper, and stood back up. His eyebrows lowered and he looked puzzled. It was a picture, on thick glossy paper, and it didn't seem like the type of thing John Winchester would have had lying around. It was a picture of black wings extending fifteen feet in each direction, with a space in the middle where the body should have been. It looked like the wings that showed on the ground when an angel was killed.

Sam looked at the bottom of the picture, where he saw a pale silhouette. It was short, and even if the sun's angle was factored in, the person who took the picture couldn't have been much more than a couple inches over five feet tall. He peered into the background of the picture, and saw a neat little row of houses, all looking exactly the same. And when he really squinted, he could see a small green road sign in the distance. He held the picture in front of Crowley. "Can you make out what that road sign says?"

Crowley grabbed the picture by one of the corners and held it up less than an inch away from his face. "Hmm…" Then he handed the picture back with a shake of his head. "Sorry. But those houses do look kind of familiar…"

Sam sighed. "Those houses look like the suburbs in every city in this whole damned country."

Crowley smirked. "Ah… the fun to be had if the entire country was damned…" Then he saw Sam's glare, and he made a mocking serious face.

One of the demons stood awkwardly in the doorway of the locker, not sure if he would be allowed to enter or not. He cleared his throat to get the attention of his boss. "Um… your majesty… I'm not sure whether this is important or not… but just a moment ago, while we were standing guard, suddenly a bunch of… symbols appeared on the walls."

Crowley stepped outside curiously. For a moment he thought the demon was an imbecile for not recognizing the enochian, but then he realized that it wasn't quite the language of heaven, it was a little different. And the little difference was enough to prevent him from being able to read it.

He heard a surprised gasp and turned to look at Sam, who was staring at the symbols with a mesmerized look. "You said these just appeared here?"

The demon glanced at Crowley, and with the nod from his boss, he answered Sam. "Yeah, we were standing here and the wall was blank one second, and the next second it was covered in those."

Sam stepped next to the outer wall and ran his hand over the symbols. When he pulled his hand away, there was a dark red powder on the tips of his fingers. He sniffed the dried paint, and his eyes widened. "It's too old to tell from a distance, but this is definitely blood."

Crowley scraped some of the powder off to sniff, and he nodded in agreement. So somehow, someone had painted strange symbols on the side of a storage locker in blood that had to be at least five years old, in a matter of seconds, without being seen or sensed at all.

Sam tilted his head, and to Crowley, it almost looked like the man was feeling sleepy. He straightened his neck, brushed his red stained fingers on the side of his jeans. He jumped up and grabbed the edge of the roof, and pulled himself forward all the way. Crowley appeared on the roof with a smirk. "If you wanted a lift, you could have just asked."

Sam ignored the demon, and laid down on his stomach, slowly leaning his head over the edge of the roof, tilted down. Crowley frowned when he realized what Sam was doing, and he wondered why he hadn't thought of it. Sam looked at the symbols from upside-down, and they spelled out one very easily readable word: Home.


	3. Chapter 3

Once they were back on the ground, Crowley and Sam began talking about what to do next. Crowley smirked. "I guess we're heading back to Hell for now. Sorry, Moose, but I don't think you really want to go there again anyways."

Sam shook his head. "Wait just a minute. That article was addressed to both of us, so 'home' could mean either of our homes. And that picture definitely wasn't taken in Hell."'

Crowley shook his head stubbornly. "I'm telling you, that clue was meant for me. After all, I'm the one destined to succeed between the two of us. And you don't even have a home, I mean, not really. That bunker? You've barely been there for two years now, and there's no way anything could get in to leave another clue anyways. So I'm going to go with my idea."

Sam laughed. "Ha. You call that place home? That's not your home. A home is a place where, no matter what, is full of the people and things you love the most. A home is where your friends are waiting for you, and some of your best memories are made there, and it's full of laughter and love, and I don't think you get any of that in Hell."

For a moment, Sam thought Crowley was about to cry. Then he laughed. "You really are such a girl, Moose." The demons laughed, and Sam knew it had been said for their benefit. Crowley went closer to Sam and lowered his voice. " And you have no where like that either."

Then Crowley and his cronies disappeared, and Sam just shook his head. He had no problems working without the king of Hell. And it hadn't been the bunker he was talking about. He had been thinking about the old house in Lawrence, Kansas. Before the fire that completely ruined their lives, that had been the place he was just describing. So if Crowley wanted to go off on a wild goose chase, then fine. Sam would just go to Lawrence on his own.

He got into his car, and jumped back when he saw the man sitting in the passenger seat. "I just can't catch a break." He muttered under his breath. The passenger was an older looking man, his face lined with creases. He had slicked back black hair and a classy suit on. He was the horseman from the bible known as Death.

He smiled pleasantly at Sam. "I never knew how messed up the Winchesters could get. Even back when your brother first bargained for your soul, I had no idea where you two would end up, and quite frankly, I didn't care."

Sam raised one eyebrow. "Oh, and you do now?"

Death frowned menacingly. "I don't appreciate that tone, Sam. I am older than this earth, and I don't need sass from someone who isn't even a fraction as old or powerful as me. I am here right now to warn you. Stop looking for the person you are searching for right now. I am the only one… It doesn't matter. But you need to stop searching." Sam blinked, and the old man was gone.

He ran one hand through his hair with a sigh. He had no idea what was going on. But being approached by Death himself, that was interesting. It meant that perhaps that mysterious miracle maker wasn't such a false hope after all. He only hoped that Death had better things to do than watch him all day as he started the car and began driving to where it had all began.

Sam was fidgeting as he sat in the small diner booth, drinking his watery coffee. It was really more like hot water with a few coffee beans thrown in for flavor. He was jittery and nervous. What if the house had a different owner now, one whose life he hadn't saved? What if Jenny didn't even remember him, and refused to let him into her home again?

Sam shook his head and took a deep breath. He had faced many worse situations before. He paid for the coffee, and left the diner. He got into his car and drive until he got to the house. He steeled himself, then went up the walkway and knocked on the door before he lost his nerve.

A pretty young woman with dark hair opened the door with a polite smile. "May I help you?"

Sam cleared his throat. "Yes, actually, I'm looking for a woman name Jenny who moved into this place about ten years ago."

The woman tilted her head. "What do you want with her?"

" I just need to talk to her. Do you know where I can find her?"

The woman smiled sadly. She gestured for Sam to step inside, and he did. "My name is Sairie. Jenny was my mother."

Sam picked up on the use of past tense. "Was?"

Sairie nodded. "She passed two years ago. Is there something… anything I can do for you?"

"I'm so sorry. I'm Sam-"

Sairie's eyes widened. "Sam… Winchester?" He nodded, and she grinned. "Wow, I never thought I would meet you. My mom always used to tell stories about you when I was younger, about how you were the hero who saved our life. She said you saved us from a ghost. Isn't that crazy?"

Sam smiled awkwardly. "Actually, I know this is going to sound insane, but has anything strange happened around here recently?"

Sairie tilted her head. "Strange how?"

Sam shrugged. "I'm not really sure."

"Oh. Well… here, let me show you." Sairie grabbed Sam's arm and let him down to the basement. She waved her arm at one of the walls. Sam looked at the wall with interest. It was a giant mural of some kind of forest or something, and it was beautiful. Sairie sighed. "My mom sucked at anything art related. But when she passed, she left the house to me, who had just turned eighteen, and my brother who had just turned twelve. I found this painting down here. Ritchie got our mom's artistic talent, and he says that it just appeared when he woke up one day. If you don't consider that strange, then I don't know what is."

Sam stepped closer to the painting to look at every detail of it. Whoever was sending him on this wacky scavenger hunt must have been planning it for a while if one of the clues had been in place for years. Sam saw, near the edge of the wall, a small cabin, and he recognized it almost immediately as Bobby's cabin, the one they had stayed in after his house had burned down.

He turned around and shook Sairie's hand. "Thank you so much. I need to go… but thank you…" He hurried up the stairs and left the house. He got into his car, and started the engine before he even buckled his seatbelt. He didn't want Crowley to somehow get there before him, so he floored it. He knew that he was putting a lot of strain on the car, but it would be worth it if it meant that he could have his brother back. He felt a ping of loneliness as he thought about all the times they had driven around together in the Impala, and he desperately hoped he would be able to get things back to the way they used to be, before Dean had accepted the Mark of Cain and turned into a nasty demon.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry that it's taken so long for me to update this story. I've just been bogged down with so much work lately, and I started a new fanfiction for one of my friends as a favor and I've been trying to find time to work on my novel as well. But at least it's finally out, and that's what matters. Please review, it'll really make my day.**

Sam stood in the doorway of the cabin with a crushing feeling in the pit of his stomach. The whole place was ransacked, it looked like a small tornado had whirled through. He had no idea what he should even be looking for, but he knew that if Crowley had somehow shown up first, he would have found it and kept it.

He spun around with a start at the sound at rustling leaves behind him. One of the police officer demons from before was standing right behind him, and he had to refrain from swearing out loud. Instead, he jutted his chin out in that stubborn manner of his. "What are you doing here?'

The demon grinned. "I'm assuming the same thing as you. You are here because of this ridiculous treasure hunt, right?"

Sam shook his head. "No. I'm just here to pick up a few things that belong to Dean. I thought that he might want them back. You know, since they've been sitting around here forever."

The demon laughed. "Ah, Sam Winchester, you are hilarious. But in all serious, what's in there?"

Sam remembered with a flash of hope that the cabin was full of protection from all kinds of monsters, including demons. That meant that it wasn't Crowley who had searched through the place. But that moment of relief was quickly dissipated by the question: If Crowley hadn't been the one searching through the cabin, then who had?

Sam stepped over the salt line in the doorway, and slammed the door shut in the demon's face. He didn't want to be dealing with hellspawn while trying to search for someone who didn't trust Dean, but would be able to cure him. He looked around the cabin slowly, trying to picture what it had looked like when he last saw it.

But with all the mess, it was difficult to tell if there was anything in particular that was missing or out of place. The door behind him was blasted open, and he felt a rush of chilly wind slam into his back. He turned around, and looked at the snarling demon. "Now. We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. What do you say you break that salt line there and let me 'help' you investigate. It'll make things go much faster, I promise."

Sam looked into the demon's black eyes, and felt an uncomfortable feeling of hunger sweep across him. The blood he had gulped down to try to use on his brother had begun to wear off, and Sam could practically smell the blood pumping through the demon's viens.

He lifted his arms, and the demon was flung back, cracking into the nearest tree. Sam pinned him there with his mind, and took his time walking over. When he got to the struggling demon, he pulled out his knife and slit its throat. He pressed his mouth against the cold skin, and greedily gulped down the scarlet liquid.

He could feel the demon shuddering beneath him, but he didn't care. Before he could get his fill of the blood, the demon began to smoke out. Sam shook his head and laughed. He used the demon blood on his hands to paint a devil's trap on the forehead of the body pinned to the tree. The demon was immediately sucked back in, and Sam went back to gulping down the thick red juice.

When he was finally done, so was the demon. It twitched pathetically, and Sam almost felt bad for it. He ended its life quickly, hopped up on the blood he had just had. He let the body slide to the ground with a thump, and he went back into the cabin. He went over to the kitchen area and opened the fridge, hoping to find a beer.

Instead, there was nothing in there except for a jar of mayonnaise, a piece of white paper sticking out from under it. Sam reached forward and grabbed the jar, pulling it away. There was a square of paper taped to the bottom, and he pulled it off, careful to avoid tearing it.

The paper was clearly addressed to him, with S.W. written in fancy calligraphy. He turned the envelope over and ran his finger under the flap, tearing it open. He pulled out the card inside with confusion. It said 'Thank You' on the cover. He opened the card, and looked at the simple message inside. 'Go to the place where you threw Lucifer and Michael into the pit. I'll be there'.

Sam shrugged. Then, even though he was pretty sure Crowley wouldn't know where that was, he pulled out the lighter engraved with Dean's initials, and held it under the card and envelope until they caught. Once the flame reached his fingers, he tossed the blackened paper into the sink to let it finish burning up, and he left.

Once outside he got back into the car, and began driving back to Lawrence. It was a little annoying that this mysterious person couldn't just tell them to go to Stull Cemetery from the start, but at least this crazy adventure was almost over.

A few hours later, he parked outside of the cemetery, and began trekking through to the small clearing where Michael and Lucifer had fought briefly before Dean interrupted them. He stopped when he was standing right where he remembered the falling into the pit.

He rushed forward when he saw a little girl tied to a tree, her arms stretched all the way behind her. She couldn't be any older than fourteen or fifteen, and her skin was filthy and sallow, and her long blond hair was a mess. Her head was tilted to the side, resting on her shoulder, her eyes were closed, and her breathing was very shallow. From the layers of dust on her, it would seem that she had been tied up here in the middle of the cemetery for at least a few days.

He knelt down in front of her and pulled out the handkerchief that had been stuffed into her mouth. She blinked slowly, and glanced at Sam with glazed eyes that didn't seem to really be taking anything in. Sam could hear the rasp in her breathing, and he quickly pulled out a blade and sliced through the thick ropes.

She slumped forward as soon as she was free from her restraints, and Sam caught her and easily supported her slim figure. He looked around warily, not sure whether to expect the girl's captor to appear or not. She looked up at Sam with her mouth barely open as she spoke. Her voice was a whisper that he could barely here. "You came. I didn't think you would actually come for me…"

Her voice trailed off, and Sam shushed her gently. "Shh… don't worry, everything's going to be okay now. Don't talk, okay? Save your energy. You're going to be fine."

Sam scooped up the girl, worried about how light she was in his arms. He began to walk back towards his car, but a figure seemed to appear in front of him. He was tall, wearing a perfectly tailored black three piece suit and shiny black wing tip shoes. His dark hair was slicked back, and he had a pocket watch chain hanging out of his vest pocket.

The stranger grinned. "Now, now, now. You really shouldn't lie to children, you know. So, you're the famous Sam Winchester. The guy who broke the last seal and started the apocalypse. I never thought that she would contact you of all people."

Sam grit his teeth in frustration. He never liked people bringing up his past mistakes, especially when they were so far in the past. And he had jumped into Hell to stop the apocalypse hadn't he? So shouldn't he have been forgiven by now? "Who are you? Who is she?"

The man grinned, showing off his straight white teeth. "Now, how do you not know who you've been driving all across the country to rescue? Oh, well, it would be rude not to introduce you. Her name is Karina. And I wouldn't mess with her if I were you. Her father is a very important figure."

"Oh yeah? Who?"

The man's grin widened. "Why, Death, of course."


	5. Chapter 5

**So, this is the conclusion to my lovely little supernatural scavenger hunt. I know it's not a very good ending, but I've been stressing about this for a couple of weeks, and I know I had to finish it off. There is always room for a sequel if I got any requests for one... Please review, and check out my other work as well, now that I'm expanding fandoms.**

**A/N I do not own anything supernatural related, and I now regret not placing a bid to purchase Crowley since he's my favorite**

Sam smiled a little nervously. "You are joking, right?" He shook his head. "Whatever. Just get out of my way. This girl needs medical attention."

The man grinned, and Sam could almost feel the insanity rolling off the stranger in repugnant waves. "Oh, don't worry about it. I have a feeling we're all about to get a lot of attention."

Sam spun around at the rustling sound, and saw Crowley standing there, looking bored. "So, this is the prize we've been searching for. I can say that this was not what I expected at all."

At the moan of distress from the girl, Sam pulled her closer to his chest in a protective manner. "Stay back."

Then Crowley's eyes widened just the tiniest bit, and Sam turned around again. Death was standing there, and his usual frown looked deeper than usual. Maybe there was something to the crazy guy's story after all.

Death stepped right up to Sam, ignoring the territorial growling that came from the human's throat. "Hand her over."

The girl's eyes flickered open again. She forced herself to look at Death, with the look of a child getting injured with their hand in the cookie jar. She talked slowly. "Father please… I did promise a miracle in exchange for my rescue. You know… I can't go back on my word…" and then she erupted in a fit of coughing.

Death shook his head. "It has been four years since I have seen you last. Since you decided to act stupidly and selfishly, and I had no idea where to even begin looking for you. It should seem like no time at all to someone who has been around forever and will never die, but it passed very slowly. Four long years…"

Karina coughed. "You've waited four years… what's another couple of minutes?"

Death said nothing, but Karina seemed to understand the very hesitant permission in his eyes that most people would have mistaken as the death glare. She craned her head up to look at Sam, and then glanced over at Crowley. "What are your wishes…?"

Sam gulped. He couldn't believe it was all finally going to be over. "I wish that Dean would go back to being a human instead of a demon."

Crowley looked almost disappointed at Sam's request. "Your brother makes a very successful demon. But, I will get him one day, for something or another. Well, mine's a little more private..."

Karina shook her head. "Speak now or forever hold your peace."

Crowley muttered under his breath for a minute, before coming to the conclusion that his wish was worth a little embarrassment. "I want you to…" he took a deep breath, like he was steeling himself for ridicule. "... … bring my son back to life…" the last part was said in a quick mumble, but everyone still heard it.

Karina nodded. "Sam, when you return home, you'll find your brother just the way you want him. Crowley… I cannot bring your son back to life, his body is gone. The best I can do is send him to hell and make him a demon, so that you can spend as much time as you want with him. But that seems… selfish… since he's happy in heaven right now."

Crowley's face turned red. "Fine, then just take away all this goddamn humanity that I find myself plagued with, courtesy of one Samuel Winchester."

Karina nodded. "I can do that. It will wear off like a bad hangover, and by tomorrow, the day after at latest, you will be restored to your demonic self."

Death nodded impatiently, something Sam never thought he'd be privy to witnessing. "Alright, you've granted their wishes, now let's go."

Karina finally agreed with her dad. He took her carefully from Sam's arms, and then all the figures were gone from the graveyard. Sam blinked. He found himself standing outside bunker, where he had left Dean. He stepped inside, and heard a lot of muffled shouting.

He hurried to where Dean was bound. His older brother looked a little tired and hungry, but no worse for wear. Sam hurried to remove the shackles, and then pulled his sibling into a big hug. Dean returned the gesture awkwardly. "Um… would it be rude to ask why I woke up tied to the chair like this?"

Sam stepped back. "You don't remember?" Dean shook his head. "Oh… well, what's the last thing you do remember?"

Dean shrugged. "I'm not sure. I think that I was talking with Crowley about finding this demon named Cain to get a weapon to kill Metatron."

Sam's eyes widened. "Whoa. There's a lot I need to fill you in on." But he smiled anyway, just glad to have his brother back. And as long as he was recounting the past year and a half to Dean, Sam could ignore the hunger for demon blood that was slowly coursing through him again.

Death glared at his irresponsible daughter. "Those 'wishes' that you granted… you know exactly why you should not have done either of those things. I have told you a million times before, it is not our place to change the destinies of men and demons or anyone. Your brother would be so disappointed in you."

Karina gasped. Her father knew that she idolized her much older sibling. "He wouldn't be… he promised that he would always be proud of me."

Death snorted. "I can assure you, he doesn't have time to be constantly watching over you. He has a lot of responsibilities, even if it doesn't seem like he's home most of the time."

Karina pouted. "Geez, I've only met the guy once in my entire life, true, but he promised he would watch over me."

Death shook his head. "As much as it pains me to say it, I'm pretty sure he has more than just you to watch over."

Karina crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly. She would never admit it, but she was constantly doubting her faith in her brother, doubting her faith in God, since they were one and the same.


End file.
